MACK’S ThermaFit Soft Foam Ear Plugs Review

MACK’S ThermaFit Soft Foam Ear Plugs are barrel-shaped noise stoppers that work well for my large ear canals in terms of comfort, fit, and effectiveness. They are also well suited for Flents Quiet Please users who cannot handle their new formula.

I thank Mack’s for supplying their ThermaFit for my review upon my request – after I could not purchase them at a reasonable price in Canada.

Introduction

Noise is unwanted sound. Noise annoys as the Manchester punk outfit Buzzcocks sang in the late 1970s. My three closest neighbours have an air conditioner, one of them also a hot tub. The guy across the street runs 2-stroke engines 12 month a year, for gardening in the summer and snow clearing in the winter. It is buzzing at any time of the day in and around my house, and sadly also during the night. To add insult to injury, my wife developed snoring recently.

Sadly, I am very sensitive to noise. As a classically trained (but failed) musician, hearing training was part of my education. This hard-acquired sensitivity is backfiring now. The city does not help as their bylaws do not factor in many environmental noises and the resulting vibrations. The choices are moving, educating the neighbours…or dampen the sound by insulating my ear canals.

That’s what the old Greeks did with beeswax, wool, cotton etc. whatever worked. But it was a German guy, Max Negwer, as late as 1907, who produced the first commercial ear plugs “Ohropax” (ear peace), mainly made of wax. Classical musician (another one) Ray Benner and his wife Cecilia purchased Mckeon Products in 1962. The company sold only Mack’s moldable clay ear plugs, named after the company founder. The couple subsequently invented the moldable silicone ear plug, saving swimmers from ear infection.

Memory foam ear plugs followed in 1972, marketed by the Cabot Safety company. They are made from either polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polyurethane. The disposable ear plugs were born and quickly occupied the drugstores. Memory foam is the most comfortable, optimally moulding, and best sound absorbing material to this date.

Today, many people rely on ear protection for sleep. Some have been subscribing to ear plugs for decades. Others need protection on job sites. For all of us, companies like Mack’s offer a broad range of ear plugs for all ear shapes and noise reduction levels.

Ear plugs come in different shapes, mainly conical/tapered or cylindrical/barrel shaped. I am only concerned with the barrel shaped ones as only these fit my large ear canals, namely Mack’s ThermaFit.

Until recently, the US market featured two memory foam darlings, the Flents Quiet Please and the Mack’s ThermaFit. In Canada, only the Flents were readily available. Recently, Flents changed suppliers and completely switched the product around: different shape, different comfort and fit, and different materials with different physical properties. Long-term subscribers went mad: they reported skin rash, lack of insulation, lack of hold etc. they felt deceived and betrayed.

Mack’s ThermaFit ear plugs come to the rescue. They are very similar to the original Flents Quiet Please. In this article we will have a good look at these.

Specifications MACK’s ThermaFit Soft Foam Earplugs

What makes a good Ear Plug?

People need ear plugs for all sorts of situations and environments, as discussed above. The plugs have to insulate properly (duh!!!) but also provide good comfort, fit, and breathability. They should be skin friendly and not trigger allergies. Important is their ability for long-term use. Many people have subscriptions with the supplier and have used the same product for decades. Product continuity means reliability and is therefore of utmost importance.

The Mack’s ThermaFit tick all these boxes.

How do the Mack’s ThermaFit perform?

Mack’s ThermaFit are made of porous PVC, in the USA. You can see that the ThermaFit are more porous than its competitors (discontinued Flents Quiet Please and 3M Classic), which makes for increased comfort (less surface area in ear canal) and less sweating through better breathing. Less sweating also means that the ThermaFit don’t fall out easily.

I find the Mack’s in-ear tension very soothing. They are shorter than the 3M Classic, and hence you can lay optimally on the side with them. The longer 3Ms are more for job sites in my opinion, and the Mack’s better suited for sleep.

As to sound reduction: varies with insertion depth…the deeper the better. Upon inserting the ear plug, make sure you roll/squeeze them properly, then raise the ear with the other hand while pulling it back from the head: back and up! This ensures the perfect seal.

Rating is rating, and any ear plugs rated at 29 dB insulate the same…there may be slight variations depending on the noise frequency to be blocked and on the fit in the individual ear canals.

None of these works perfectly against a 110 dB leaf blower (obviously not, at 29 dB NRR), they just may round the edges somewhat. For 100% results, you may have to add a noise cancelling headphone like the Bose QC35. I tested the combination of the Mack’s with the older Bose QC15, which reduced my neighbour’s aggressive 2-stroke weed wacker noise to zero.

Are the Mack’s ThermaFit an adequate Replacement for the Flents Quiet Please?

Strictly yes. You cannot put a newspaper between the discontinued Flents and the Mack’s. The Mack’s have better porosity, but the dimensions are essentially the same.

Concluding Remarks

Mack’s ThermaFit ear plugs are as good as it gets for me. They are my new preference for overnight use. I wished they would be more easily available in Canada, too.

Have a good and healthy sleep!

Until next time…quietly yours…and keep on listening!